1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for transporting disc-shaped photographic films that are called disc films, the apparatus being to be assembled in an apparatus for treating photosensitive material, more particularly in a developing apparatus for disc films.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As is well known for any expert in the art, the disc film developing apparatus is constituted by the combination of a dark box, a series of treatment liquid baths in which a plurality of steps of developing, bleaching, fixing and film stabilizing and hardening are carried out with a step of water washing interposed between the adjacent treating steps as required and a disc film transporting apparatus for successively immersing disc films into the treatment liquid baths in the substantially same manner as in the case of a conventional developing apparatus for photographically treating a long length of photographic film.
As to the conventional disc film transporting apparatus by means of which a plurality of movements comprising raising and lowering movement for immersing disc films into each of treatment liquid baths and removing them therefrom and forward movement for displacing the disc films to the next treatment liquid bath are achieved there has been already made a proposal which is granted as patent under U.S. Pat. No. 4,502,772, British Pat. No. 2,122,771B and Canadian Pat. No. 1,191,732. The conventional transporting apparatus is constructed such that it includes a movable rail adapted to slidably carry a plurality of hangers thereon and repeatedly carry out a series of movements comprising upward movement, forward movement, lowering movement, backward movement and temporary stoppage at the lowermost position of the movable rail which is provided with endless chains extending around sprocket wheels at both the foremost and rearmost ends as seen in the direction of arrangement of a series of treatment liquid baths, each of the hangers being provided with a support shaft at the lower end thereof on which a plurality of disc films to be treated are rotatably supported, and a plurality of hanger displacement preventing members for preventing forward movement and backward movement of the hangers at time a little bit before the movable rail reaches the lowermost position, each of the hanger displacement preventing members being equipped with a rotational force transmitting mechanism by way of which rotational force is transmitted to the support shaft for the disc films, wherein required treatment is carried out during temporary stoppage of the movable rail while the support shaft is rotated in each of the treatment liquid baths together with disc films and thereafter the hanger is caused to advance by a distance of one section during upward movement, forward movement and lowering movement of the hanger. However, it has been pointed out as drawbacks inherent to the above-mentioned conventional transporting apparatus that in spite of the fact that each of the disc films is designed in smaller dimensions as an article to be treated, the movable rail adapted to carry outward upward movement and lowering movement together with the hangers is unavoidably forced to have a wide range of movement and thereby components and parts constituting the transporting apparatus as designed in larger dimensions, resulting in increased number of components and parts, complicated structure and function and reduced economical efficiency.